Perfect Valentine’s Day Gift
There’s been much talk about going on a Be Techie Free or Mobile Device Fast for a day. We all know the benefits of that. I’m quite quite sure I would start looking at people more, physically talk to them more, forced to be more approachable and definitely give quality time to whoever I am with!
However in our busy busy lives, especially those of us here on this very techie island of Singapore, it is so so touch. Do you know that as of Dec 2012, we have 148.9% mobile phone concentration! That means there’s so many of us with more than ONE mobile phones! WAH!! As of Jun 2012, there’s 4 million Internet Users on this little island of 5.3 million! That’s 75% penetration into the population! And for Facebook, there are 2.9 Facebook Subscribers! A whopping 54.5% have a Facebook account! Woah!!!
Well, to go on Techie Free, it would affect our work efficiency for sure. And that’s not being realistic. So I’ve decided to be non-ambitious, and I will go for a FOUR hours FAST off all mobile devices in the evening on the most appropriate day (thus far)—Valentines’ Day! (And this is an AWESOME, from the heart, free, sacrificial, shows your love Valentine’s gift!!)
Yes, for four hours on 14 Feb 2014 (Fri), I will go on a FULL FOUR hours FAST off all mobile devices. The time will start at 2000 hrs local time and it will end at 0000 hrs.
I know, some of you are thinking, huh?? Why not just do a fast all the way till the next morning? Well, I’m being realistic. I know I would want to check my Instagram & Facebook to find out what everyone else is doing. I know I would want to check my emails to ensure I didn’t miss out anything from work especially. And I know I would want to check my SMS/Whatsapp/Viber to see if anyone contacted me.
So, since it’s Valentine’s Day, it is a good time to go on this 4 hour fast. Focus on the people I’m with on that evening. Focus on what I’m doing without worrying about that single vibration or beep. No Games, No Movies on the go, No chatting, No scrolling down pages and pages of photos or updates. Nothing. Just no mobile devices (this includes mobile phones, tablets, mp3, mp4, laptops). To be fair, you can use your watch, or the clock feature on your phone (I don’t wear a watch!)
Oh!! and in case of emergencies, please work out your own escape clauses. This is important. We don’t want you to be uncontactable even for genuine emergencies. And we certainly will not take responsibilities for any actions or decisions you make. So for me, I will pick up phone calls. I hold the discretion to pick the call, or to let it go.
In the next few days, we will discuss how to prepare and survive this 4 hour fast! Meanwhile, here’s a badge for you to announce to all your social media peeps first! Just copy the code and paste on your blog, or save the photo and paste it on your pages!
Are you game? Wanna try this with me? Do leave me a comment below just to ahem, *register* your interest in joining me on the I’m Your Valentine Mobile Device Fast. Then tell me about it after 14 Feb!
I think 4 hours is a great goal! I will give that a try also.
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yes, that's absolutely a great Valentines day gift!
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I'm trying to cut back.. I think setting smaller timed goals is better
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4 hour fast – that sounds doable 🙂
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4 hours sounds very doable and a great way to start off. I can do that.
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What a great idea! I know our mobile devices invade almost every waking moment of our lives (except at church). This will be a welcome break.
I completely agree with your pledge to do a mobile device fast. It is amazing how much time we spend focusing on screens rather than faces. It can be a challenge, but I believe that it is worth it to make the time for face to face communication. Best of luck to you!
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Four hours I think is very doable and a great goal.
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I think four hours is going to fly by and you'll wish you'd taken five or six! 🙂 Have a wonderful tech-free day!
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Oh it would be so hard to be completely tech free.I had no internet for an entire day a little whilte back, but I just watched a bunch of tv.
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I think starting small like this is a great idea… then, you can shoot for a longer period of time next.
We need to do this in my house. We aren't as focused on tech as some folks (most of our electronics are several versions old, etc.), but I bet I would be shocked to realize just how reliant we have become on technology.
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This is a super idea! We actually do try and put our phones away most evenings we need it close by because our daughter has a part-time job and doesn't drive yet, so we are the "taxi" drivers for pick up and she texts us to get her, but otherwise it's rare that we're using them for anything else after dinner.
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Yes! I will be fasting on 14 Feb for 4 hours!! :))